Simple meals in a hurry

Big Stock Photo

If you, like most of us, feel you don't have much time to cook -- let alone entertain -- I have a few fast-fix strategies to make your next get-together a stress-free hit. Here are some ideas I rely on at various times, depending on the meal and the diners. Recipes are included for some. Keep in mind, especially during these difficult economic times, that it's often more cost-effective to entertain at home than in a restaurant. Splurge on food to cook at home as your budget allows. — Natalie Haughton, Los Angeles Daily News

If you, like most of us, feel you don't have much time to cook -- let alone entertain -- I have a few fast-fix strategies to make your next get-together a stress-free hit. Here are some ideas I rely on at various times, depending on the meal and the diners. Recipes are included for some. Keep in mind, especially during these difficult economic times, that it's often more cost-effective to entertain at home than in a restaurant. Splurge on food to cook at home as your budget allows. — Natalie Haughton, Los Angeles Daily News (Big Stock Photo)

High on my list of best chicken salads is one I copied from Campanile restaurant in Los Angeles that includes napa and red cabbage and red onions or scallions. Campanile serves it on olive bread slices, but it's such a versatile recipe -- for lunch, brunch, supper or picnics -- that you can serve it simply as a salad, without the bread. Sometimes I even leave out the cabbage, adding unpeeled, diced European seedless cucumber (about 2 cups) instead.

High on my list of best chicken salads is one I copied from Campanile restaurant in Los Angeles that includes napa and red cabbage and red onions or scallions. Campanile serves it on olive bread slices, but it's such a versatile recipe -- for lunch, brunch, supper or picnics -- that you can serve it simply as a salad, without the bread. Sometimes I even leave out the cabbage, adding unpeeled, diced European seedless cucumber (about 2 cups) instead. (Business Wire Photo)